Cyber-crime and the new frontline of policing – The Yorkshire Post says

Yet, while the public share this view and a desire for street patrols to be reinstated in local communities, police chiefs and policy-makers must also respond to the changing face of crime.

And while the newly-launched North East Business Resilience Centre – NEBRC for short – does not trip off the tongue, its creation should be welcomed by all those on the side of the law.

A groundbreaking initiative between seven forces in Yorkshire and the North East, as well as Sheffield Hallam University and others, it brings together the very best of the police – as well as the private and public sectors – to confront cyber-crime which now costs UK businesses a staggering £27bn a year.

Money that the UK economy cannot afford to lose, its importance to this region’s 500,000 SMEs is illustrated by the owner of a business advisory consultant who employs 25 people. He nearly lost everything when professional fraudsters and blackmailers hijacked his firm’s computers and demanded £100,000 in a Bitcoin ransom to release a code and restore access.

As a result, he was left £70,000 out of pocket – all the more reason why police, IT experts and others must ensure that they use, wherever possible, their collective expertise to catch the perpetrators of such crimes and scams. After all, the absence of physical violence does not lessen the seriousness of such offences – or, more importantly, the impact on victims.